Back to the Barre

“You can completely tell that we knew we were on TV at this point,” says Christi of the premiere episode of Season 2 of Dance Moms, “The whole tone completely shifts.” In this season, the original Dance Moms are now self-conscious of how things will appear on camera. In an effort to avoid breaking the 4th wall, they refer to the show by calling it “the video,” in reference to the popular music vid...

“You gave us the opportunity of a lifetime,” Christi says of John Corella, one of the creators of Dance Moms who joins Christi and Kelly to discuss the origins of the show and how it still resonates with audiences 12 years later. As former Mr. Dance of America, John wanted to create a show that let viewers see some of the country’s most talented young dancers and their dedicated mothers. As they a...

“It all started at Mohan’s. And now here we are,” Kelly says ahead of this episode of Back to the Barre, during which she and Christi explain how the show, which was meant to be a limited fly-on-the-wall “docu-follow” series, became a cultural phenomenon that is just as beloved today as it was when it debuted eleven years ago. Though Abby insists in interviews that she never auditioned for the sho...

“This shouldn’t be called ‘Dance Moms: Most Outrageous Moments.’ This should be called ‘Let’s humiliate Christi and Kelly on national television— again!’ ” Christi says of Episode 13 which counts down the most memorable moments of Season 1. She and Kelly are afraid that their recap will be repetitive, and they do cover some familiar ground. Abby constantly contradicts herself if not flat out lies,...

“There are two good episodes of Chloe in ‘Dance Moms’ and this is one of them,” says Christi of the final episode of Season 1. In this episode, the girls and their moms are still in L.A., (although there is a “pickup” scene that is filmed in Studio B back in Pittsburgh and everyone had to pretend otherwise.) Chloe is chosen to portray the younger version of singer Lux in Lux’s music video, “It’s L...

“Before the show, I didn’t even know I rolled my eyes,” Christi says while recapping Episode 11 of Dance Moms. Christi’s eyes get as much of a workout this episode, which takes place in Lake Tahoe, as Chloe, whose dancing/filming schedule has been so punishing she’s starting to break down. When Abby sits the mothers down to give feedback about their daughters’ techniques, she says Chloe lacks conf...

One thing Christi and Kelly understood very early on in filming the show was that they had a job to do. It was starring on ‘Dance Moms,’ complete with all of the personal and familial sacrifices that come with it. This was Abby’s job, too, though she fails to recognize this or act accordingly. Once again, the moms can be seen on camera signing paperwork (signing their lives away, Kelly jokes). It...

“I’m so fired up,” says Christi in regards to episode 9 of Dance Moms, “This is one of those episodes that I’m still pissed off about.” It’s the episode in which the crew heads to Las Vegas, where the girls do their dance routine as each of the seven deadly sins. Kelly and Christi agree the theme was simply a way for Abby to get another dig in at the girls, (e.g. Chloe is envious of Maddie and Bro...

“This is the worst dance I’ve seen yet on ‘Dance Moms,’” says Christi of Episode 8, “We look like snowbirds coming down from Cleveland.” The dance in question featured Brandon, whose mother Diane, a longtime friend of the two and member of the ALDC studio, joins the podcast to describe her experience of filming. Diane and Brandon surprised everyone by showing up in Orlando. Brandon is joining the...

On this episode of Back to the Barre, Kelly is operating with a broken hand. Without giving away any spoilers, it’s related to a pair of burst water boobs, and more loosely related to the time she fell into a manhole during filming. She and Christi are reviewing Episode 7 of Dance Moms, Titled “She’s a Fighter.” This was the first episode filmed since the show became a hit and was picked up for a...

Best friends Kelly and Christi are back! Today they are reviewing Episode 6 of their hit show Dance Moms called “Dying to Dance” (a title which they both agree is messed up.) It refers to the dance “Where Have All the Children Gone,” (which Christi nicknamed The Seven Dwarves of Suicide”) that the girls are performing this week, one of the most beloved by the company and viewers alike. Christi con...

On this episode of “Back to the Barre,” Kelly and Christi discuss the girls learning the “Sugar Daddy” dance complete with its unruly props, while the mothers endure the humiliation of learning and performing a dance choreographed by Cathy. In between learning all the dances for the upcoming ALDC showcase, the girls also audition for a Broadway producer who is casting for the musical Annie. Christ...

“This is the least funny we’ve been, this is the least fun we’ve had, because this episode is hard to do,” Christi admits on the latest episode of Back to the Barre. The fourth episode of Dance Moms planted the seeds of years of misunderstanding. Here Christi and Kelly reveal behind-the-scenes elements of the story that reveal that the two were not, as many fans accused, crazy and jealous of the o...

“This is going to turn into a big fun party,” Christi says as she and Kelly marvel at how many people are enthusiastically embracing Back to the Barre, rediscovering their hit show ‘Dance Moms,’ and telling the two how much they’ve enjoyed hearing from them all these years later. The party continues as they review Episode Three of “Dance Moms” over drinks. In this episode, Abby is teaching the gir...

Best friends Christi and Kelly are back to discuss episode two of their hit series ‘Dance Moms,’ where the daughters head to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to perform their “Electricity” number. The moms are as concerned as ever about the age-appropriateness of their daughters’ dance moves and outfits, especially in religiously-conservative Lancaster, PA. Abby is overstepping her bounds and confusing her...

“People always wanted to see more of us,” says Christi Lukasiak, one of the breakout stars on Lifetime’s long-running hit reality dance show “Dance Moms.” Eleven years after the show’s 2011 debut, she and Kelly Hyland, best friends and fan-favorite duo, are giving the people what they want by reacting to the show’s pilot episode “The Competition Begins.” With glasses of wine in hand, they relive t...